Deputy Mary Lou McDonald- speech from 19 Jan 2022

Taoiseach, Aisling Murphy was not the first woman to die in a random violent attack, as she went about her business in broad daylight on the banks of the Grand Canal. Others have met violent deaths going to work, coming home, in daylight and in dark. The outpouring of grief and anger across the land is a powerful expression of solidarity with the Murphy family, who now face the unimaginable heartbreak of coming to terms with life without Aisling. The streams of stories, personal experiences and traumatic narratives that flood our airwaves is stark testimony that male violence against women, harassment of women, degradation of women is endemic, pervasive and ever-present in Irish life. And we now stand at a crossroads and there is a choice to be made. We must choose action, united, persistent action to end the violence, the threat of violence, the fear of violence that blights the lives of women and girls. We must make that choice and we must mean it. The roots of sexism and misogyny run deep. The Ireland of religious dogma, that defined women as men's property, that excluded women from the world of work, that relegated us as objects and confined us to domestic chores, that confined and exploited the poor and vulnerable in laundries and mother and baby homes, that stole babies from the arms of their mothers. That Ireland defined and disfigured the lives of generations of women, our grandmothers, our mothers. Much has changed. The face of misogyny has changed, but it has not gone away. Today's Ireland, our place, our daughter's Ireland, is ugly and dangerous still. Whether it is the unsolicited sexual photos, the online stalking and abuse, harassment in shops, in nightclubs, on the bus, on bicycles, at work or at college. It is the intimidation of lewd commentary and catcalling. It is the never-ending mansplaining. It is the gaslighting and coercive control. It is rape. All of this and more is the circuitry of misogyny, a culture which enables violence against women and then looks the other way. Hundreds of women have met the ultimate brutality of this toxic culture. The fear of random attack is terrifying, but for many women the terror is at home. The most dangerous person is their intimate partner. Yet, every year women and their children are turned away from refuges because there is no place for them. We have to be honest. While women suffer, the state penny pinches. As the words of lip service ring in their ears, vital services struggle to survive. The murder of Aisling Murphy must mark a turning point. Leaders must lead. We need now to stand up and be counted. The public appetite for action now matches the scale of male violence that women face every day. This is our chance to turn the tide. This is a rare moment for change. The safety and dignity of women, the lives of women, demand political action and unity. A meeting of political leaders must now be convened urgently. We need to unite in agreeing and driving immediate and long-term action to eliminate violence against women. I ask you, Taoiseach, to convene this meeting as head of government. This is a heartbreaking time, but hearts and lives have been repeatedly broken. Each time, once the initial grief cools, the political system goes back to business as usual. This cannot happen again. Go to the end. Good morning. Thank you very much. Our team was in Las Giong Coorla. It's the only one of our members at the end. and I am very proud of you, and I am very proud of you, and I am very proud of you and of you. In the first instance I want to join in expressing my profound sympathy once again to the family of Aisling Murphy to her parents, Ray and Kathleen, her sister Amy, her brother Cahill, her boyfriend Ryan and her wider family and the entire community for the violent and horrible manner of her death in terms of being taken from an entire community, someone who gave so much to that community, who as a national school teacher personified the essence of national school teaching in this country, which as I have said before is the bedrock upon which much has been built in our society down through the decades, and in terms of her love of music and sport, I think she encapsulated a lot, but above all what one was left with yesterday was an extraordinary embeddedness of the Murphy family and of Aisling herself in a wider community, and they were there in all forms and all facets, so this horrible crime tore at the heart of that value of community and of family. I just wanted to say that I agree with the Deputy in terms of it being a watershed, in terms of our society's approach to the undermining of women and in terms of violence towards women, and there can be no tolerance for that, and the Minister for Justice has been working on a national strategy in terms of domestic violence, sexual violence and gender-based violence that will be completed in early March. I can say to the Deputy that the Minister for Justice will, as a result of that, will lead the policy area in terms of this, but also will be responsible for the provision of services, so that there will be, I think as you and others would have articulated before, there will be very coherent, one key leadership role within the Cabinet in this area, which will then be accountable to the Cabinet Committee, which will be chaired by myself, in respect of making sure that there is delivery on all aspects of that strategy and also on existing policies. I will convene a meeting of leaders, I think that is a good idea, and in statements that we will be articulating later, all leaders, I believe there is a debate or statements in the House later, I will be saying very openly that there should be a cross-party approach, mirroring what society wants to do, and in that context men need to listen more and men need to hear women more in terms of this issue and related issues, and you are correct, Aisling is not the first young woman or woman to have been murdered violently in this manner, and we need to eliminate this from our society, but indeed all aspects of what I would term the undermining of women in a misogynistic way or in any other form, and that takes a multifaceted approach, embracing prevention and protection and security, but also education, and in short, it needs a sea change in culture, not just legislation and initiatives, but a sea change in culture to eliminate this. Thank you. G amagat, Aisling. Of course, we all condone or send our sympathies and condolences to the Murphy family at this awful time. There are not words, really, to describe the trauma and grief that that family and, as you correctly say that the entire community is experiencing. An ocean of tears have been shed for Aisling and for the hundreds of women who have lost their lives in a violent manner. The systemic nature of male violence to women has now been identified and called out in a very powerful way, and so it falls to us now as legislators, as elected representatives, as political leaders to lead the way. That is the expectation of us. I want to share and absolutely endorse your position, Taoiseach, that we need an all-of-a-Rachtas approach to this. This is not a moment for party politics, this is not a moment for division, this is a moment for unity. In saying that, it is my strong belief, Taoiseach, that as head of government it is absolutely imperative that you are at the wheel and that you, in particular, lead on this matter. Because the danger is that when the shock lessens, when the initial grief subsides, when the headlines have been written, when the cameras go away and that poor family are left with the awfulness of their loss, the real test will be what we do in here. We have a need in all of society and a whole of community response to this very, very complex issue. We cannot legislate misogyny away, but let me tell you and let us be clear. We will never, ever see an end to this endemic violence unless we get our act together, unless we are clear that we mean business. I believe, Taoiseach, that that initial meeting of all political leaders should be the beginning of our collective journey and our collective endeavour. I agree with what the Deputy has said. I would also say that delivery will be the key here, and the maintaining of momentum on this. The week before Aisling's murder, I would have met with the Minister for Justice and would have met separately with the Minister for children looking ahead. We did the focus on this issue and on the issue that others have raised in this House about having a focal point for a lead department. The sector outside had been looking for people who are advocating on behalf of women. That issue has been resolved in terms of justice leading on all aspects of this, but also then having a chain of accountability to the Taoiseach's office and to a Cabinet subcommittee to make sure, and again working with the Oireachtas in terms of the specific committee or the relevant Oireachtas committee, to make sure there are timelines to get things done. I mean to propose hate crime is important, COCA's law has been important, supporting a victim's journey and the No Excuses campaign. They have all been important initiatives that have been undertaken, but a comprehensive, coordinated approach is required and, above all, delivery is required on all fronts. And that the centrepiece of this strategy, as I said, is prevention, protection, prosecution and coordination of policies.